Eric grabbed the notebook and pulled her to the chaise. It took a few minutes for them to get settled and snuggled in, and then Eric looked over the lines of numbers and geek speak in the notebook.

"I'm impressed. Aaron has people who know what they're doing."

"Always. Aaron doesn't mess around with talent. He finds the best, pays them well, and respects them enough to let them do their job." She snuggled into his side a little more. "When I first met Ranger, and realized he must work for Aaron, I relaxed a little, knowing he was likely one of the good guys, if Aaron had hired him."

"Likely?"

She shrugged. "If he has to hire a bad guy, and is certain he can control him so he won't give the Drake name a black eye, he will. Doesn't very often, though, so the odds were Ranger was one of the good guys."

"Ranger said something about Mitroff trying for a political solution?"

"All the supernatural groups in South Carolina, including the Eagles, have agreed to free their human slaves in accordance with Abbott's procedures, which makes sure they all have a road towards self-sufficiency and aren't just kicked out on the street. Mitroff is now pretty much on his own, the only one still holding slaves, which was one of the main reasons Abbott wanted to take over the state. So, Mitroff is agreeing to treat humans as people instead of sheep and cattle, trying to negotiate his way out of war."

"Will Abbott accept? Or does he want control of the territory?"

She shook her head. "There's too much in flux right now to say for sure. My guess is he'll draw the talks out, get a better feel for things, before deciding. I've advised him Mitroff is weakened and knows he'll lose, and if we let him build his forces back up and he goes back on the treaty, we'll be back at square one."

"So you're advocating war over politics?"

"Nope. I'm advocating we make sure he can't build his forces back up, if we go the political route."

"Did Abbott turn you?"

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Kendra froze, and Eric immediately knew Abbott hadn't turned her, and Eric had brought up horrible memories.

He kissed the top of her head, leaned his face down to nuzzle her cheek. "You don't have to answer now. When you're ready, I'll listen. It was a long time ago, nothing says we have to talk about it today."

"I killed the vampire who turned me, and if the power structure had an inkling it was me, they'd destroy me before the sun set another single time. It took me over two hundred years to find the strength to stand up to him, and there's no way I should've been able to kill him. He was stronger than Abbott is today, and I was a babe who'd never been taught how to harness my power."

"Then how did you manage?"

"Ironically, in part because he'd never taught me anything about being a vampire. I figured some of the mental stuff out on my own, by trial and error. Later, another vampire taught me properly, and he saw into my memories, knew the truth of what happened, but he also saw the horror of my first two hundred years, and he never told anyone what I'd done. The power structure still a.s.sumes I was his victim - a helpless vampire who had to be given to another powerful Master to be taken care of, because I wasn't capable of surviving on my own. Unfortunately, they handed me over to another monster."

"How did you escape him?"

"I didn't have to. He may have been a monster, but he did a.s.sign someone to train me, and that man helped me file paperwork fifty years later, so I could be free. I'd met a Master Vampire I'd liked at a party several times, and I travelled to his territory with permission, and then asked if he'd accept me as one of his."

"Abbott?"

She shook her head. "No. My third Vampire Master was, in some ways, more of a monster than the first two, and yet in others, he cared for me and kept me safe. I was used to being treated as something lower than a s.e.x slave, but I wasn't used to being cared for, defended, and protected by the same man when others tried to treat me in a humiliating fashion." She rolled a little more on her side, buried her head in his chest, and he stroked her scalp, her silky hair sliding on the back of his hand.

"Eventually, the man who trained me under the second Master joined forces with Abbott, and the two worked together to take over the territory. Once they were in control, they invited me back, I accepted, and I've been with Abbott ever since. He's never once made me have s.e.x with him, or with anyone else, though I've done so on my own a few times, when I knew it would benefit him politically."

"So, submitting to another, being asked to surrender your will, brings up bad memories for you?"

She shook her head. "It's been around a thousand years since I've submitted to anyone, but that's in large part because I'm so powerful, and there are only a handful of male vampires with enough juice to force me to my knees. What you and I did, playing around with power exchange when there are safewords, and when the Top wants it to be good for the bottom, was night and day to what I went through so long ago."

Eric sighed, held her tighter, snuggled her into his body better, and then relaxed his hold once more, with Kendra comfortably cradled against him, his arms loose around her. "They had me for twenty-one hours. You were held captive, probably under a lot worse conditions, for centuries."

"Doesn't lessen the horror of your experience. It isn't a compet.i.tion, and I've long since dealt with what happened to me. If you're still dealing with your experience a hundred years from now, that'll be a problem, but it's normal for you to be all over the map with what you're thinking and feeling, now."

"Why would you be killed, if it came out you killed the vampire who turned you?"

"It's supposed to be impossible. A creator has so much control over those they make - total control of their mind, to the extent the child vampire can be controlled as a puppet. If I were cruel, I could force those I've made to walk into a room and murder loved ones, much as a marionette or robot can be controlled."

"Could Abbott force you to that?"

"Probably not, though he's strong enough to do it to most of the vampires in his territory, even the ones he hasn't made. He could override my will, and has a few times, but it's been a really long time, and it was while we were still figuring out where we stood. We're friends most of the time, but I'm careful to show him the respect a Vampire Master is accorded when it comes to areas of politics and specific governing topics. He expects me to have an opinion and voice it, he doesn't want brainless followers, but he also demands the respect his position ent.i.tles him. I don't envy him his position, and I'm grateful to be under a Master Vampire who lets me live my life as I wish, and who doesn't throw his weight around just because he can. I have no issues with showing him respect and grat.i.tude, when it's called for."

"He told me you could be Master of your own territory, if you chose."

"I don't want it. If there weren't a Master I wanted to follow, I'd do it just for the autonomy, but I believe in Abbott's rules and methods, and I'll support and follow him, and do everything in my power to keep him in power."

"The stronger he is, the safer you are?"

"Not just me, but the people who are important to me."

"Ranger hinted Abbott's as powerful as he is because has uses you as an enforcer."

She tilted her head up, met his gaze. "He doesn't use me, Eric. I gladly act as his enforcer when it's needed. Rarely does he ask it of me. I usually volunteer."

He stroked some stray tresses away from her face, traced her eyebrows. "Do you enjoy it? Do you look forward to the next time you can hurt someone? Destroy them?"

"If they've hurt me or mine and I'm in a rage, I don't hate it, but I don't enjoy it, either. My brain is more concerned with the correct order of torture, to best way to dole out the most pain in the least amount of time, and in the most secure fashion. Vampires who can fly must be tortured different than those who can't, and the few with the ability to teleport or turn to smoke, must be killed as fast as possible, with no chance for torture." She put her head back on his chest, breaking eye contact. "If they haven't hurt someone close to me, I dislike the process, and I've been known to rush through the torture and then spend time doing nothing, so people will think I took longer. We left dozens of living witnesses who saw exactly how the people who hurt you were tortured. I also left enough physical evidence of the order of things, but it wasn't entirely necessary, with the eyewitness accounts."

Eric didn't want to focus on the bad tonight. He'd had some questions, but now, he just wanted to spend the evening with her in his arms, relaxed. He stroked over the top of her hair, down her arm. "After days and days of hiking, I'd be content to just lie here with you, maybe watch a movie? Did you have anything planned?"

"Mmmm, no. It's a smart TV, though, and I've already signed on to my accounts, so feel free to find something. I'm happy lying here in your arms, and you seem warm enough, but if I take too much of your heat we'll need to put a blanket between us."

"You never have," he told her. "I don't mind warming you. I've been sleeping nights for a while, though, so I'm not sure how much longer you'll have my company. I'll try to sleep in tomorrow, so I can stay awake later tomorrow night."

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Eric woke in bed, under the covers. He'd fallen asleep while they watched a movie, and she'd awakened him long enough to walk him to bed and help him undress. He'd tried to wake up for her, but he was more tired than he'd realized.

It was a little before ten in the morning, though, and he'd awakened at around five yesterday morning, and then hiked seven miles before shopping for clothes, shoes, toiletries, and everything else he'd brought with him - even the bikes.

He spent the morning catching up on email, and the afternoon refreshing his memory on where he left things with the game, so he could dive back into work.

Eric kept an eye on the time, and fixed his steak and veggies about an hour before he figured Kendra would wake. He was back to work on his computer when he heard her in his head, and he went through the false back of the closet to the spiral staircase leading to the finished bas.e.m.e.nt.

There was a bedroom down here, but Kendra said she'd rest for the day in a hidden compartment and not the bed. He hadn't asked why, he already knew vampires went overboard on precautions while they were so vulnerable during the day.

Kendra was standing by a deep, mahogany bar wearing only a robe, tantalizingly open in the front. He could see bare skin from her head to her toes, but the shadows played just right so he couldn't see details.

"Step forward and let it drop to the floor."

She held his gaze as she followed orders, and as the silky fabric landed in a puddle behind her, she said, "I'm hungry, Eric."

He pulled his shirt off as he walked to her, his c.o.c.k granite-hard by the time he traversed the dozen steps.

Her cheek was so soft, so supple, and he ran his hand to the back of her head as he brought his lips to hers, and her groan sent heat to his c.o.c.k as she spread for him, let him possess her.

He nibbled her bottom lip, pulled it between his lips, and then let it go as he bent and picked her up. She didn't protest as he carried her to the windowless bedroom, settled her on the bed, and then stepped back to remove his jeans and underwear.

"Want to be inside you when you bite me today. Sometime this week I want you to drink from my groin, but today, I want the intimacy of making love."

Whatever you want, Eric. G.o.d, you're so beautiful.

Men aren't supposed to be beautiful. He could hear his laughter in his own mental voice as he climbed on top of her, kissed her neck, her cheek, and then once again possessed her mouth. Kendra's legs wrapped around his waist and she positioned her moist heat so it cradled his c.o.c.k, and he pulled back, pushed forward carefully, and felt it almost go in without his having to use his hands.

They both groaned, and Kendra reached down to guide him into her.

He closed his hand over the curvy mound of her breast, tugged and squeezed her nipple, and growled deep in his throat as her p.u.s.s.y flexed and jerked around his c.o.c.k.

He pulled out, pressed in, watched her eyes flutter back in her head, and found his rhythm, enough to drive them both crazy, not enough to get either of them off just yet. He wanted to take his time and enjoy her, tonight.

He alternated kissing her mouth, her neck, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and lifting up to watch her face as his hips moved faster, then slower. While he was over her, his arms straight, she traced the lines of muscles in his stomach, and he felt it flex under her light touch. He lowered himself again, letting her take more of his weight as he kissed her senseless and picked up speed. He wasn't going to last forever the first time, but that was okay. They had all night.

He expected her to flip him over, bite him as they came together, but she stayed beneath him, let him pound her until he was out of control, and came with him, writhing under him in her own ecstasy when he finally growled through his release.

Now, she flipped him over, kissed his jawline, his ear, and made her way down his neck. She pulled his head to the side and he only momentarily remembered he didn't have hair on his head, and why, before her teeth were sinking into him, bliss flooded his veins, and all rational thoughts fled.

She didn't drink from him long, but he couldn't form words to accuse her of not taking enough, because he had another hard on and she was riding him now, her torso rippling and undulating as she worked her hips and rode his c.o.c.k for all she was worth.

Kendra came three times as she rode his iron hard c.o.c.k, and then Eric pulled her to his chest and rolled them over. His cheek still touching hers, he pounded her through another three or four o.r.g.a.s.ms before finally emptying into her, bellowing an almost roar as his body succ.u.mbed to the pleasure.

The two lay together, not wanting to separate long enough to go clean up. Eric rolled to his back and brought Kendra with him, so she was mostly on top of him, and he ran his hands over her back and arms, stroked her cheek, and was surprised at the strength of the possessiveness he felt towards her. He would have to find a way to accept all of her - the soft, loving, partner of tonight, the bloodsucking vampire, and the monster who could tear people apart and dole out tortures he hadn't imagined. If he was going to love her, he'd have to love all of her. He couldn't pick and choose.

He finally went to the bathroom, cleaned himself a little, and brought a towel back to clean her. "Sorry I flaked out on you last night."

"Don't apologize. You were tired and you needed your rest. Besides, I enjoyed our evening, reconnecting without it getting s.e.xual." She grinned, sat up, and kissed his chest, ran her tongue around his nipple, and he jerked back before his c.o.c.k decided to awaken again.

"Of course," she added, "I enjoyed this evening a whole h.e.l.luva lot, too."

Eric looked at her, tried to gauge her hunger, and realized he'd been right about how much she'd drank. "You didn't take enough from me."

"You aren't back to one hundred percent yet, Eric, and you need to build your strength back. The five ounces I took won't affect you, but ten or twelve ounces would've been too much. I'll supplement with the bags if I need, but if we're just going to sit around the house, I probably won't need to."

Eric traced her lips with his fingers. "I want to feed you, I want to be your sustenance. It's true I probably lost weight on the trail while covering more than ten miles most days, trekking up and down mountains, but it doesn't mean I'm not capable of giving you what you need."

She opened her mouth, let one of his fingers slide into her mouth, sucked it while holding his gaze, and pulled it out with a small pop. "Trust me to not take enough to make you feel the loss, okay? I don't want you lightheaded or unstable from blood loss." She kissed his cheek and changed the conversation by asking, "How much work did you get accomplished today?"

He started to go back to the discussion about wanting to be her source of nourishment, but decided he'd bring it up again later, so he answered her question.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Over the next four days, the two made love, f.u.c.ked, cuddled, kissed, and just plain enjoyed each other. They also rode the bikes, went on some night walks, and sat on the roof to stargaze. Eric showed her pictures of some of his adventures - climbing Everest, hang gliding over Rio de Janeiro, s...o...b..arding from the summit of Mount Rainier. In the midst of some of his deep-sea pictures, he'd taken an ocean sunrise picture, and Kendra had looked it for a good five minutes, the longing in her eyes almost painful to watch.

"You miss the sun?"

"I wouldn't see it if I were dead, so I'm grateful I have my nights, but looking through your pictures, seeing the joy on your face as you do these daytime activities, I miss it more now than I have in a couple of centuries." She sat up, seemed to shake it off. "You taste of sunshine, fresh air, and pure unadulterated joy. I may not be able to watch you do this stuff live, but I'll be able to see video of it later. I'll still be able to be part of your life, just not as much as either of us would like."

Kendra checked in with Abbott twice a night, and Eric checked in with Aaron once during the day. If either missed a check in, people would show up ready for battle, so they were both careful to remember. The phones didn't ring, though, no one called or telepathed them until late on the fourth night as Eric was considering turning in.

Eric knew something was up when Kendra said, "I need to step outside a minute. I'll be right back."

A few minutes later he looked out, saw her sitting on the front porch steps, her head in her hands. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was certain she was telepathing a group of people. She was outside fifteen minutes before she came in and set up her laptop.

"Abbott plans to negotiate with Mitroff tomorrow night. I'm going to go with him, and he has a few places you can go - your choice of which."

Eric nodded, and stayed on the sofa, sketchpad and charcoal pencil still in hand.

"The Billiard Club will be open for business, so the underground bunker is about as safe as it gets. Aaron and Sophia will both be attending the negotiations, but they'll have guards on their home, and Sophia said she'd love you to stay with them again. I'm welcome to join you there, when we return. Aaron has some people at Drake Security, and he's also sending some people to stay with a local motorcycle club. There are other options, but I'd prefer one of those four."

"I met a few of the motorcycle club members when I stayed at TBC last time. They invited me to ride with them, but I already had plans with Ranger. I think I'd like to stay with them, if it's okay?"

Kendra smiled. "They'll keep you safe, just remember we're exclusive now, so you're limited on how much you can party with them. You'll be there as Aaron's guest, not Abbott's, so if someone asks, don't tell them the wrong name."

"Do they not like Abbott?"

"They don't dislike him, but they have a special relationship with Aaron, and have offered to keep some people safe for him. If Abbott had asked, they probably would, but it would require negotiations and favors."